Children in the Reflecting Pool The Reflecting Pool was never intended to be a swimming pool. In the late 1920s, however, people cooled off in its waters because there were not many other options. <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/185">The beaches at the Tidal Basin closed in 1925 due to concerns about water quality and increasing conflict over segregation</a>. Washington, DC, had only a handful of city pools, which were always crowded and cost money to access. City residents used public bodies of water like the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/23">Reflecting Pool</a>, the fountains near the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/59">Capitol</a>, and other fountains throughout the city, as public pools, despite laws and regulations to the contrary. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92522677/">View original</a>. 07/07/1926 <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>